Archive for the Middle East Politics Category
I have been doing some research on the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan al-Muslimeen) for some time and am still a little bit unsure about whether to classify them as a moderate or radical group. They may belong to a special category or even to more than one category - after all, this is a group of largely autonomous Muslim Brotherhood organizations that exist in many countries (some say as many as seventy countries). Also, the groups in different countries have gone through phases of violence and non-violence, depending on the disposition of leaders and the organization’s relationship with the government. Also, Muslim Brotherhood organizations don’t always work under the official name of the international organization that inspires them. The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood happens to call itself by another name: HAMAS - hardly a moderate group.
Thanks to a blog post by Patrick Poole, a number of recent articles on the subject of the Muslim Brotherhood have come to my attention. Poole is actually being critical of at least three sources that encourage U.S. engagement with the Muslim Brotherhood. I’m currently holding back on answering the question in the title of this post - but I’ll admit I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to this group. Rather than try and tell people what to think (at least for now), I’ll just link to some papers and articles. It might be interesting to hear what others think on the subject.
“Mainstreaming the Muslim Brotherhood” by Patrick Poole at Frontpage Magazine (March 26, 2007)
“The Moderate Muslim Brotherhood” by Robert Leiken and Steven Brooke in Foreign Affairs March/April 2007
“The Little Explored Offshore Empire of the International Muslim Brotherhood” by Douglas Farah (April 18, 2006)
“Islam is only place to turn” by Mitch Potter in the Toronto Star (March 24, 2007)
“Hear out Muslim Brotherhood” by Joshua Stacher and Samer Shehata in the Boston Globe (March 25, 2007)
“A More Islamic Islam” by Geneive Abdo in the Washington Post (March 17, 2007)
It should not be a jailable offense to blog
or to insult al-Azhar University
or to insult the president of Egypt
or to insult Islam.
The Book of Mormon tells the story of a wicked Nephite dissident named Amalickiah who was obsessed with gaining political power over the Nephites by whatever means was necessary. In Alma chapter 46, verse 4 we read: “And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king …”
Those familiar with the Book of Mormon narrative know that numerous wars followed this desire. After failing to achieve his means via the Nephite political system, Amalickiah fled to the Lamanites, took power over their armies and kingdom by murder and other devious means. He then sent the Lamanite armies to fight against the Nephites.
The Book of Mormon sums up Amalickiah’s overall influence by saying:
Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men. (Alma 46:9)
The Book of Mormon also tells the story of a Nephite general named Teancum who was angry at Amalickiah for causing so much dissension and war. On New Year’s Eve, Teancum slipped into the Lamanite camp, assassinated Amalickiah and then returned to the camp of his army.
We read:
And now, it came to pass in the twenty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, behold, when the Lamanites awoke on the first morning of the first month, behold, they found Amalickiah was dead in his own tent; and they also saw that Teancum was ready to give them battle on that day. (Alma 52:1)
Every time I read this passage, I think about the timing of this assassination. I don’t think it was a coincidence. On New Year’s Eve, Teancum must have determined that the greatest obstacle to the happiness and liberty of the Nephites was Amalickiah. He then personally took it upon himself to remove that obstacle. It was a decisive and symbolic act that demonstrated Teancum’s determination in his righteous cause. Notice that after achieving this feat, Teancum did not sit on his laurels or waste time celebrating. We read that on New Year’s day he was again prepared and ready to fight against the Nephite’s enemies.
As Teancum witnessed, there were others who were prepared to take up Amalickiah’s wickedness and continue the fight against the Nephites. Amalickiah’s own brother, Ammoron, became the new king of the Lamanites and continued the wars against the Nephites. Fittingly, Teancum assassinated Ammoron as well. Unfortunately, Ammoron’s servants were awakened in the process and Teancum was killed. We later read that Ammoron’s son Tubaloth, caused Lamanite armies to go against the Nephites and caused further chaos and devastation.
I find it appropriate now, at the end of this year and after the execution of Saddam Hussein, to ponder these scriptural passages. The Iraqi people have finally seen the permanent removal of a vicious evil man who for so many decades turned the Iraqi state into an institution of murder, war, theft and rape. His execution was a decisive way to end what has been a very difficult year. Still, there seem to be plenty of people who are eager to continue down Saddam’s ruinous path. We shouldn’t be surprised or overly discouraged. Saddam/Amalickiah is dead. There is still rampant evil in the world. Like Teancum we should stand ready to fight against those who pursue corrupt interests and actively seek to destroy the liberty and happiness of the human race.
On that note, Happy New Year.
Another prominent Syrian regime adversary in Lebanon has been assassinated. This time it’s Pierre Gemayel.
No one intelligent can think for even a second that the timing of this is coincidental or that the Syrian government didn’t have anything to do with it. The Lebanese government has been mounting an investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and this is a direct blatant attempt to intimidate those involved and disrupt the normal process of law.
If the Syrian government doesn’t suffer serious consequences for this, they’ll continue to act the same way. The problem is, I don’t know if there is anyone in the international arena who is willing to make those consequences happen.